Friday, December 5th, 2003
PAWS
Actionline
A weekly opportunity
to make a difference
for animals
PAWS Campaign Against Circuses That Use Performing Animals
Important Links
PAWS Animal Cruelty Resources and Links
Legislative Links
Washington State- House of Representatives
- Senate
Federal
- House of Representatives
- Senator Maria Cantwell
- Senator Patty Murray
Vote Smart is an excellent resource for all sorts of legislation.
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Progressive Animal
Welfare Society
PO Box 1037
Lynnwood WA, 98046
Seattle Parks Department Public Meeting re: Woodland Park on December 11th
The Seattle Parks Department is currently evaluating plans for dealing with trees at Woodland Park that they claim pose a public safety risk. At a public meeting on November 20, 2003, Parks Department personnel stated that the rabbits who have resided at Woodland Park for decades are in part to blame for the deteriorating health of the trees. The Seattle Parks Department has proposed cutting down many of these trees, and has stated a need to solve the rabbit issue.
The City has allocated $32,000 to the study of a permanent plan. The Parks Department says this money must be spent by December 31, 2003, leaving little time for public comment and participation in the formulation of a permanent vegetation management plan for Woodland Park.
Seattle Parks Department will hold a second public meeting on this subject on Thursday, December 11th, 2003, at 7:00 pm. If you have concerns about the fate of the rabbits, trees, and public use of Woodland Park, and would like to learn more about and have the opportunity to provide input on Woodland Park's vegetation management plan, be sure to come to the meeting at the Evans Recreation Center (Greenlake Pool) at 7 pm, on Thursday, December 11th, 2003.
Alaska's Wolves Need Your Help To Stop Their Mass Extermination
Not since the height of government-sponsored wolf control programs in the first part of the last century have wolves been at such great risk. The Alaskan government is reviving the barbaric and unethical practice of using aircraft to shoot and kill wolves from the sky, or by chasing them to exhaustion, and then landing and shooting the animals from the ground.
Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski is responsible for allowing the return of this archaic practice. Over the past year, he has worked diligently to overturn the will of his own constituents who voted twice-in 1996 and in 2000-to ban land and shoot killing. Just two weeks ago the Alaska Board of Game, whose members are appointed by the Governor, decided to approve an aerial wolf control program for a 1,700 square-mile area of interior Alaska. Every single wolf in this area will be shot by aerial gunners using airplanes and helicopters. A second, larger control program is planned for an area just east of Anchorage where 80 percent of the wolves will be killed.
Please contact Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski to express your opposition over the land and shoot wolf-hunting program. Remind him that wolves are an integral part of Alaska's ecosystem and help maintain the health of prey populations. Further, years of scientific studies on predator/prey relationships indicate that wolves and other predators are rarely the cause of decline in prey populations.
Apparently, the Governor's office is being inundated with calls and faxes, so please help by sending more messages to keep up the pressure.
Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski
Office of the Governor
Box 110001
Juneau, AK 99811
Phone (907) 465-3500, Fax (907) 465-3532
e-mail: governor@gov.state.ak.us
(source: Defenders of Wildlife)
Meet Your Legislator Forums: Ask your Legislator to Stop the Poisoning of our Environment
With the legislative session beginning in January, now is the time to ask your legislators if they will protect you and the environment from the dangers of persistent toxic chemicals (also known as persistent bioaccumulative toxics or PBTs). Chemicals such as dioxin, mercury, and PCBs build up in the environment, the food chain, and our bodies, posing serious threats to our health, and to the health of our ecosystem. They threaten the long-term survival of many species, and cause a range of health impacts from learning disabilities to cancer. PBTs are released from industries in this state every day and are hidden in products used in our homes, schools, and workplaces.
Washington State has taken initial steps to protect us from these poisons by creating a groundbreaking program to phase out PBTs. However, many Washington State legislators are trying to remove funding for this important Department of Ecology program (PBT program). In response, several environmental organizations have come together to organize nine Meet Your Legislator Forums. These public forums will be held around the state this month to give you the opportunity to hold your legislators accountable on this issue as well as on other environmental legislation planned for 2004.
Please attend a forum to voice your support for the restoration of funding for Ecology's PBT program, and to ask legislators to be leaders in the fight to end the poisoning of our environment from PBTs.
The schedule below includes details on the Meet Your Legislator Forums in your district. If you have questions or would like to discuss how to voice your opinion, contact Kristina Logsdon at Washington Toxics Coalition, at 206-632-1545 ext. 20 or klogsdon@watoxics.org.
To find out which district you live in, visit http://dfind.leg.wa.gov/dfinder.cfm
Unfortunately, meetings are not held in every district, so if you live in a district in which a forum is not being held, or can't make it to the forum, contact Kristina Logsdon to find out other ways for voicing your concern on this topic.
Meet Your Legislator Meetings:
45th, 48th, 41st, and 5th Districts:
December 8, 2003
6:30 - 8:30 PM
Heritage Hall
203 Market St.
Kirkland, WA
30th District:
December 9, 2003
6:30 - 8:30 PM
Federal Way Main Library Branch - Room #1
34200 - 1st Way South
Federal Way, WA
40th District:
December 9, 2003
6:30 - 8:30 PM
Anacortes Senior Center
1701 - 22nd Street
Anacortes, WA
23rd District:
December 9, 2003
6:30 - 8:30 PM
Bainbridge Island Library
1270 Madison North
Bainbridge Island, WA
49th District:
December 10, 2003
6:30 - 8:30 PM
Public Service Center
6th Floor Hearing Room
1300 Franklin Street
Vancouver, WA
19th District:
December 10, 2003
4:00 - 5:00 PM
Lower Columbia College
Longview, WA
Student Center Conference Rooms B & C
27th and 29th Districts:
December 11, 2003
6:30 - 8:30 PM
Main Library
1102 Tacoma Avenue South
Tacoma, WA 98402
1st, 21st, and 44th Districts:
December 16, 2003
6:30 - 8:30 PM
Everett PUD
2320 California Street
Everett, WA
3rd District:
December 15, 2003
6:30 - 8:30 PM
Community Building
35 W Main
Spokane, WA
